J.R. Allen Writes

This whole thing started because I was watching YouTube.

I follow one of my favorite YouTubers, ItsReal85 The GOAT. He was playing a fighting game called Martin: No Filter Fighters, and my first reaction was basically, “Say what? They got a Martin game out?”

I was interested immediately.

The game looked fun, and I started wondering where it came from. That sent me down a rabbit hole where I found other fan-made fighting games based on shows and movies I already knew.

Then my brain did what it always does. I started thinking about my own characters.

I have an original universe that I created myself. I own the IP. I already have the characters, their personalities, abilities, relationships, and stories.

So I asked ChatGPT a simple question. Could I do this with my own characters, and could ChatGPT help me learn how to become a game developer?

The answer was yes.

My reaction was basically, “Shitttttttt. LET’S DO IT!”

That was when the idea really started.

At first, I wasn’t thinking about money. I know a successful game can make money, especially when you own the IP, but that honestly came later.

I wanted to see my characters come to life.

I’ve always believed that when you really love doing something, you can find yourself doing it before the money ever shows up. You do it because you want to see if you can take the thing in your head and make it real.

Then I started putting together the fighter roster.

Once I saw the characters together and started seeing what a character-select screen could look like, something changed. I looked at it and thought, “This is genius.”

More importantly, I started believing it could actually happen.

It stopped feeling like some random idea. I could see the game.

Now I’m thinking seriously about learning game development and taking this project to the next level.

I already know it isn’t going to be easy. There is a real possibility that I get overwhelmed. I’m going to have to learn things I have never done before, and there will probably be times when something doesn’t work and I have no idea why.

But if I finish this game, I’ll know I can do it again.

That matters to me.

I like calling myself an author because I wrote books. I like calling myself a screenwriter because I learned how to write screenplays and actually did the work.

If I’m going to call myself a game developer, I want to earn that title too.

For me, that means finishing my game, doing the best job I can, and releasing it to the public for people to buy, download, and play.

You know what else would be cool?

If ItsReal85 The GOAT played the game on his channel one day.

Watching him play Martin: No Filter Fighters helped spark this whole idea in the first place. Seeing him eventually play something I created would be a very satisfying moment for me.

If I finish this, I’ll be able to look at myself and proudly say that I’m an author, screenwriter, and game developer.

I didn’t go to college for game development. I don’t have a degree telling me that I know how to do this. I would be learning because I decided I wanted to learn, and there is something powerful about that to me.

There is another part of this that means even more.

I have a teenage son.

When this game is finished, I honestly hope he likes it.

I can picture him playing it and looking at me like, “Dad, this is really good. You really made this? How? Who showed you how to do this?”

That would probably make all the frustration worth it.

Knowing him, I think he would be interested in how I did it. He might even ask if he could do something like it himself.

If he is willing to learn, I would absolutely help him.

I wouldn’t want him copying my idea, though. I would want him to come up with his own idea, theme, setting, and characters. Then I could assist him and show him some of what I learned.

That would be pretty damn cool.

There is also a bigger vision behind the game.

I want people to play it and start asking questions about the universe. I want them wondering who these characters are, where they came from, what happened between them, and whether there is more to the story.

Because there is more.

I already have bigger ideas for this universe outside of gaming.

If the game catches people’s attention and makes them want to know more, that could open doors for those ideas too. People might start wondering who created the game, look me up, and realize I’m also an author and screenwriter.

That could lead them toward my books, screenplays, and everything else I’ve been building.

But first, I have to make the game.

Because this would be my first one, I’m going to treat it like my baby. I want to take my time, learn what I need to learn, make mistakes, figure out how to fix them, and finish what I started.

If I can get through this first game, the next one will be different because I’ll have something I don’t have right now: experience.

I’ll know how I did it.

And yes, I already think I would want to make more games after this one.

I’m starting to see myself differently because of all of this.

“Creator” describes me, but I still want the titles. I want Author, Screenwriter, and one day Game Developer attached to my name because those titles represent work I actually completed.

So should I become a game developer?

I think I’m already finding out.

If I can take something that existed only in my imagination and turn it into a real game people can play, I’m going to feel like a jack of all trades.

More than anything, I’ll have another reason to believe something I’m starting to understand about myself.

I really can do anything I put my mind to.